Casino card shoes, systems, and methods for a no peek feature

ABSTRACT

Card shoes, systems and methods for determining a dealer&#39;s hand status are disclosed. An image of a last dispensed card captured by an image sensor in a card shoe is analyzed. A value of the card is determined by evaluating the image. A dealer&#39;s hand status is indicated on a notification element. In another method, the beginning of a round and a number of cards dealt is determined. A dealer&#39;s hand value is determined by determining a value of the last card dealt in the round and a value of a first dealer card dealt in the hand. Determining card values is performed by analyzing an image of the cards captured by an image sensor in a card shoe. Finally, the method includes notification of the dealer&#39;s hand status.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to concurrently filed applications:“CASINO TABLE GAME MONITORING SYSTEM” bearing the attorney docket numberPA1712.ap.US, “METHOD AND APPARATUS PROVIDING GAMING TABLE WITH RFIDANTENNAS AND SHIELDING” bearing the attorney docket number PA1700.ap.US,and “METHODS AND APPARATUSES FOR AN AUTOMATIC CARD HANDLING DEVICE ANDCOMMUNICATION NETWORKS INCLUDING SAME” bearing the attorney docketnumber PA1701.ap.US, the contents of which are incorporated by referencein their entirety herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the field ofgaming and the filed of casino table card gaming. More particularly,embodiments of the invention relate to the use of equipment for thedelivery of playing cards.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cards are ordinarily provided to players in casino card games eitherdirectly from a deck held in a dealer's hands or with cards removed bythe dealer from a dealing shoe or dealing rack. The original dealingracks were little more than trays that supported the deck(s) of cardsand allowed the dealer to remove the front card (with the card frontfacing the table to hide the rank and suit of the card) and deliver itto a player. Over the years, both stylistic and functional changes havebeen made to dealing shoes, which have been used for blackjack, poker,baccarat and other casino table card games.

In the card game of Blackjack, there is a special event when players areoffered the option to purchase “insurance.” This insurance is a separatewager that can protect the player from losing when the dealer is dealt a“21.” At the beginning of the game, players and the dealer are dealt twocards. One of the dealer's two cards is face up and is known as the “upcard.” The second card is face down and is known as the “hidden” or“hole” card. Players have the advantage of knowing their two cards andthe dealer's up card. A skilled player uses the odds to decide whetherto “hit” or “stand” based on the knowledge of card information. In gamesthat offer the insurance option, if the up card of the dealer is an“Ace,” the players are offered an opportunity to place an “insurance”wager, which has a limit that is based on the amount of the initialwager. The purpose of the insurance bet is to allow players to “protect”their initial wager when the dealer's up card is an ‘Ace’, (the dealer'schance of having a Blackjack when his up card is an ‘Ace’ is much higherthan if the face card is a ten or has a value of ten). After playersrespond to the offer of placing the insurance bet, the dealer “peeks” athis hole card to find out if he indeed has a Blackjack. In the case ofthe dealer's up card being a value of 10 (such as a 10, ‘Jack’, ‘Queen’or ‘King’), the dealer may also peek at his hole card; however, playersare not given the opportunity to place an insurance bet.

During the process of “peeking” at the hole card, a dealer caninadvertently, but easily, reveal his hole card to players or anyoneelse who may be near the table. Knowing the hole card value (assumingthat the dealer does not have an automatic winning Blackjack hand) priorto the end of the game would give a player a significant advantage, andis considered cheating. Therefore, it is important to ensure thatplayers are not able to determine the value of the hole card prior tothe final game outcome.

Currently, many casinos use a stand-alone electronic-optical device todetect the hole card value without revealing the card to the dealer orthe player. This device is commonly referred to as a “no-peek device.”However, current no-peek devices are configured as an additionalelectronic hardware element at the table.

There is a need for an apparatuses and methods for enabling the dealerto determine a blackjack status of the dealer's hand without requiringthe use of a conventional no-peek device.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention, in various embodiments, comprises methods,devices, and systems configured for enabling the dealer to determine ablackjack status of the dealer's hand without requiring conventionalno-peek devices. The methods and systems include stand-alone card shoesconfigured for enabling the dealer to determine a blackjack status andcard shoes as part of a monitoring system enabling the dealer todetermine a blackjack status.

An embodiment of the invention comprises a card dispensing apparatusincluding a card shoe, an image sensor, and a notification element. Thecard shoe is configured for dispensing cards one at a time from at leastone deck of cards disposed in the card shoe. Typically, the shoe mayhold up to eight decks of cards. The image sensor is operably associatedwith the card shoe and is configured for recognizing at least a rank ofeach card that is dispensed from the card shoe. Optionally a requestingelement is also provided. In the absence of the requesting element,notification of a dealer blackjack is automatic. The requesting element,when present, is operably associated with the card shoe and configuredfor a dealer to activate when an indication of a dealer's hand status isdesired. Finally, the notification element is operably associated thecard shoe and configured for revealing the dealer's hand status when therequesting element is activated.

Another embodiment of the invention comprises a card dispensing systemincluding a card shoe and a table manager. The card shoe is configuredfor dispensing cards one at a time from at least one deck of cardsdisposed in the card shoe. The card shoe includes an image sensor, afirst communication module, and a notification element. The image sensoris operably associated with the card shoe and is configured forrecognizing a rank of each card that is dispensed from the card shoe.The first communication module is configured for transmittinginformation about the rank of each card and for receiving a handnotification. The notification element is operably associated with thecard shoe and is configured for revealing an actionable event inresponse to receiving the hand notification. The table manager isconfigured to receive the information about the rank of each card,determine, from the information about the rank of each card, a firstdealer-card rank and a second dealer-card rank, and transmit the handnotification to the card shoe if a combination of the first dealer-cardrank and the second dealer-card rank comprises a blackjack. A requestingelement is optionally provided to provide dealer hand information ondemand.

Yet another embodiment of the invention comprises a method fordetermining a dealer's hand status. The method includes analyzing animage of at least a portion of a last dispensed card captured by animage sensor in a card shoe. The method also includes determing a valueof the last dispensed card by evaluating the image. In addition, themethod includes notifying the dealer of the dealer's hand status whenthe requesting element is activated by indicating a value of the lastdispensed card. Optionally, the method includes requesting a dealer'shand status by actuating a requesting element associated with thesystem.

Yet another embodiment of the invention comprises another method fordetermining a dealer's hand status. The method includes determining abeginnning of a hand of blackjack and determining a number of handsdealt in a round. The method also includes determining a dealer's handvalue by determining a value of the last card dealt in the hand anddetermining a value of a first dealer card in the hand. An algorithm isapplied to determine the identity of the first dealer card. Determiningvalues of the cards is performed by analyzing an image of at least aportion of the card captured by an image sensor in a card shoe. Themiddle card is determined to be the card that is one-half of the numberof cards dealt. In addition, the method includes notifying the dealer ofthe dealer's hand status resulting from the dealer's hand value.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method of playing blackjack;

FIG. 2 illustrates a layout of a blackjack table;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a card shoe in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing electronic elements of an embodimentof a card shoe;

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method of determining a blackjack statusof the dealer's hand in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an integrated monitoring system used tomonitor gaming at a blackjack table in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates a layout of a blackjack table and possible placementof elements of an integrated monitoring system used to monitor gaming ata blackjack table in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of another method of determining a blackjackstatus of the dealer's hand in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises methods, devices, and systems configuredfor enabling the dealer to determine a blackjack status of the dealer'shand without requiring conventional no-peek devices. The methods andsystems include stand-alone card shoes configured for enabling thedealer to determine a blackjack status and card shoes as part of amonitoring system enabling the dealer to determine a blackjack status

The following provides a more detailed description of the presentinvention and various representative embodiments thereof. In thisdescription, circuits and functions may be shown in block diagram formin order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail.Conversely, specific implementations shown and described are exemplaryonly and should not be construed as the only way to implement thepresent invention unless specified otherwise herein. Additionally, blockdefinitions and partitioning of functions between various blocks isexemplary of a specific implementation. It will be readily apparent toone of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may bepracticed by numerous other partitioning solutions.

Further, the term “module” is used herein in a non-limiting sense andsolely to indicate functionality of particular circuits and assembliesincluded within embodiments of the invention, and may not be construedas requiring a particular physical structure, or particular partitioningbetween elements of the invention performing indicated functions.

In this description, some drawings may illustrate signals as a singlesignal for clarity of presentation and description. It will beunderstood by a person of ordinary skill in the art that the signal mayrepresent a bus of signals, wherein the bus may have a variety of bitwidths and the present invention may be implemented on any number ofdata signals including a single data signal.

Software processes illustrated herein are intended to illustraterepresentative processes that may be performed by the systemsillustrated herein. Unless specified otherwise, the order in which theprocesses are described is not intended to be construed as a limitation.Furthermore, the processes may be implemented in any suitable hardware,software, firmware, or combinations thereof.

When executed as firmware or software, the instructions for performingthe processes may be stored on a computer readable medium. A computerreadable medium includes, but is not limited to, magnetic and opticalstorage devices such as disk drives, magnetic tape, CDs (compact disks),DVDs (digital versatile discs or digital video discs), and semiconductordevices such as RAM, DRAM, ROM, EPROM, and Flash memory.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a typical method of playing blackjack. Ofcourse, rules may vary between casinos and FIG. 1 is used to illustratean example method of playing in which embodiments of the invention maybe used. The object of blackjack is to obtain a card hand with a ranknumerical value of twenty-one. All face cards (i.e., kings, queens andjacks) have a rank value of ten. Aces can have a value of one or eleven,depending on the value needed by the player/dealer (as dictated by theother cards in the hand). The remaining cards retain their rank values(i.e., a 2 has a value of two, 3 has a value of three, etc.). The cardsuits do not matter in blackjack.

To start, the players place an initial wager 110. After the wagers areplaced, the dealer deals two cards to each player and the dealer 125.All cards are dealt face down except for one of the dealer's card. Thedealer's hand includes one card dealt face up (the “up card”) and thesecond card dealt face down (the “hole” card). The object of the game isto beat the dealer's hand with a hand having a value of twenty-one, oras close to twenty-one as possible.

As stated earlier, in blackjack there is a special event when playersare offered an option to purchase “insurance.” Insurance is a separatewager designed to protect the player from losing the initial wager whenthe dealer is dealt a twenty-one (i.e., blackjack). If the dealer's upcard is an Ace 130, the dealer may have a blackjack. Decision block 130is the test of the dealer observing the up card to see if it is an Ace.If the dealer's up card is an Ace, in operation block 135 the dealeroffers the players an opportunity to place insurance bets and, if theywant, the players place the insurance bets.

At operation block 140, the dealer determines the value of the holecard. As stated earlier, in conventional games the dealer may peek atthe card or use a stand-alone electronic-optical device to detect therank of the hole card. As will be explained more fully below,embodiments of the present invention use new apparatuses and methods todetermine, among other things, the value of the hole card.

If the hole card value is a ten, as illustrated by decision block 145,operation block 150 indicates that the dealer has blackjack, so theround ends. The dealer pays on any insurance bets 155, collects theinitial bets of all the players, and collects all the cards for thathand. If the hole card value is not a ten, operation block 160 indicatesthat the dealer does not have blackjack, so the dealer collects all theinsurance bets and normal play proceeds as indicated by operation block165.

Returning to decision block 130, if the dealer does not have an Ace, thecasino rules may be designed such that the dealer still determineswhether he has a blackjack before play proceeds. If, for example, thedealer has a ten value card, he can still have a blackjack if the holecard is an Ace. Thus, decision block 170 indicates that the dealerobserves the up card to determine if it has a value of ten. If thedealer's up card is not a ten, normal play proceeds as indicated byprocess block 165. However, if the dealer's up card is a ten, the dealermay have a blackjack so the dealer determines the value of the hole cardas illustrated by operation block 180. Thus, as with operation block140, embodiments of the present invention may be used to determine,among other things, the value of the hole card in operation block 180.

If the hole card value is an Ace, as illustrated by decision block 185,operation block 190 indicates that the dealer has blackjack, so theround ends. If the dealer does not have an Ace, normal play proceeds asindicated by process block 165.

When normal play proceeds, each player, in turn, may decide to drawadditional cards (i.e., a “hit”) to bring their total closer totwenty-one. A skilled player uses the odds to decide whether to “hit” or“stand” (i.e., not receive additional cards) based on the presentinformation about her cards and the dealer's up card. There is no limitto the number of hits a player can take as long as the player's handtotal does not exceed twenty-one. A hand total that exceeds twenty-oneis known as a bust. Players that bust are out of the game and mustreveal all of their cards to indicate to the dealer that they busted.For all practical purposes, taking a fifth hit card is a very rareoccurrence and some casinos offer bonus payouts for obtaining a “sevencard hand” without busting. The dealer removes the player's cards andthe player's wagers are forfeited to the house. At any point during thegame, the players may decide not to be dealt any more additional cardsand hope that their hand total will exceed the dealer's hand total, orhope that the dealer busts out of the game. After all the players havefinished making their game decisions, the dealer reveals the hole cardand plays out the dealer's hand. Although it may vary from casino tocasino, generally, house rules indicate that the dealer must hit untilthe dealer's hand reaches at least seventeen, regardless of what theplayers have.

The game of blackjack has other wagering and dealing scenarios as isknown in the art. These scenarios include options such as a “doubledown” wager or “split” of the player's hand. Double down allows theplayer to double its initial wager at the cost of receiving only onemore card from the dealer. Splitting of a hand allows the player todouble its wager, but to use each initial card as a first card in whatbecomes two new hands. Splitting is only available when the initialcards have the same value. House rules may place restrictions on when aplayer may double down or split.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portion of a casino table 200 suitable for playingblackjack. The table 200 includes a card shoe 300 (also referred to as acard dispensing apparatus), a chip rack 210, an insurance wagerplacement area 220, and a plurality of player wagering positions 230.Players place their initial wagers and any subsequent wagers in thewagering positions 230. When insurance wagers are applicable, playersplace their insurance wagers in the insurance wager placement area 220near their specific wagering positions 230.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a card shoe 300 in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. The card shoe 300 has a generallyrectangular shape and has an upper surface that is sloped from the rear301 to the front 302. The card retaining cavity (not shown) also has asloping lower surface. The card shoe 300 may be constructed of a rigidplastic or other durable material. Generally, cards are shuffled priorto insertion into the shoe. One or more decks (typically eight decks) ofcards may be inserted in bulk from above, and are manually removed oneat a time by pressing downwardly on an outer surface of a card throughan inverted U-shaped opening 304 in the front end 302.

On a near side of the shoe, which generally faces the dealer, is anoutwardly protruding control panel 308 that may contain one or morebuttons 310, a display 314, and a speaker 318. This control panel 308 isuseful for a dealer who would use the equipment to deliver cards to acasino-style card game.

The display 314 (also referred to as a notification display) may be anydisplay known by those in the art, such as, for example, a liquidcrystal display (LCD) a light emitting diode display (LED) and a plasmadisplay. In addition, the display 314 may be as simple as a single lightor LED, or be augmented with one or more LEDs 316. The display 314, LED316, and speaker 318, alone or in combination, may be referred to as anactionable event indicator and configured to indicate an actionableevent, wherein the dealer should perform some action if notified to doso by one of these elements. For example, the actionable event may bethat the dealer has a blackjack, the dealer has an Ace as the hole card,the dealer has an Ace up card, the dealer has a ten value up card, orthe dealer has a ten as the hole card.

Of course, within the scope of the present invention, placement of thebuttons 310 and the display 314 may be at many locations on the cardshoe 300, or even physically separated from the card shoe 300, whilestill being able to communicate with the card shoe 300. For someembodiments of the present invention, it may be important to have thedisplay 314 located such that it is readable by the dealer, but notreadable by the gaming participants or other unauthorized gamingobservers.

An upper surface 315 of the shoe may contain additional controls 312.The controls 312 may additionally be backlit to convey additionalinformation to the dealer. The shoe also may include a lid 316, whichcovers the cards once the cards are placed in the shoe.

The card shoe 300 as illustrated in FIG. 3 is a manually operated shoe.However, embodiments of the invention may include a mechanized shoewherein the cards are delivered to the dealer mechanically. Oneexemplary mechanized shoe is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,009, thecontent of which is incorporated by reference herein. In either case,the card shoe 300 includes at least one image sensor 320. The imagesensor 320 may include, for example, a two-dimensional image scannersuch as a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor. In addition to, orrather than, a two-dimensional image sensor, the image sensor 320 mayinclude a contact image sensor (CIS) module as a one-dimensional linescanner. While FIG. 3 illustrates a single image sensor 320 in amanually operated shoe, those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize that multiple image sensors 320 may be implemented in bothmechanized shoes and manually operated shoes. The sensor signals may beprocessed by a separate hardware element such as a Field ProgrammableGate Array (FPGA) or an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)using the methodology described in pending U.S. patent publication US2005/0242500 A1, the content of which is incorporated by referenceherein.

Multiple image sensors 320 may be useful for redundancy, better overallimage fidelity, or simply for advantageous placement of the type ofsensor. Various positions within the shoe, may include, but are notlimited to, as the cards are withdrawn, before the cards are actuallynested in the card delivery area, or when the cards are first nested inthe card delivery area. For example, a 2-dimensional sensor may be morepractical in a position where it may read the card in a stationaryposition. On the other hand, the CIS module may be more practical in aposition where it reads the card while it is in motion to enable theline scans at various positions along the rank and suit designators onthe card.

The card shoe 300 may include a card feed limiter (not shown) positionedbeneath an upper plate, near the exit end 302 of the shoe. The feedlimiter assists in preventing more than one card from exiting the shoeat a time and in bringing the card into close proximity to the CISmodule such that the accuracy of the data acquired from the scan ismaximized. Since the CIS module typically should be in close proximitywith the surface being scanned, the card face must either contact ornearly contact the sensor during scanning. In one example of theinvention, the card feed limiter narrows the gap in which cards pass toa thickness of slightly greater than the thickness of one card, but isless than the thickness of two cards. In another form of the invention,the card feed limiter can be adjusted in order to account for differentcard thicknesses.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing electronic elements of an embodimentof the card shoe 300 of FIG. 3. The card shoe 300 includes one or moreimage sensors 320, a controller 350, one or more controls (310, 312),and one or more displays (314, 316). The card shoe 300 may also includea communication element 370 and a speaker 318.

The controller 350 is configured to send and receive information to andfrom the controls (310, 312), displays (314, 316), and speaker 318. Thecontroller 350 may be implemented as a microcontroller including memoryfor storage of data and firmware/software for execution thereon. Thecontroller 350 may be implemented as a microprocessor with separatememory for storage of the data and firmware/software. In addition, thecontroller 350 may incorporate an ASIC, FPGA, multiple ProgrammableLogic Devices (PLD), and combinations thereof. In some embodiments, thecommunication element 370 may be a stand-alone hardware element. Inother embodiments, the communication element 370 may be integrated withthe controller 350 and implemented as a combination of hardware andfirmware/software.

Some embodiments of the card shoe 300 may be stand-alone. What is meantby “stand-alone” for purposes of this disclosure is that the entiresystem embodied in FIG. 4 is contained within the physical structure ofthe shoe 300. The controller 350, in a stand-alone version of theinvention, may also be configured to receive, store, and process theimage data from the image sensors 320 to determine the rank and suit ofeach card removed from the card shoe 300 as well as the number of cardsremoved from the card shoe 300.

In the stand-alone embodiments, a communication element 370 may not beneeded. However, in other embodiments, data from the image sensor 320may be sent directly from the image sensor 320, through thecommunication element 370 and onto a communication medium 380 forreceipt and processing by an external element (not shown). Furthermore,in different embodiments processing of the image data to determine rankand suit may be partially performed by the image sensor 320, thecontroller 350, the external element (not shown), or combinationsthereof. Operation of the card shoe 300 in its various configurations isexplained more fully below.

The communication element 370 may be configured for any wired orwireless communication medium 380. By way of example, and notlimitation, communication media may include serial data links, paralleldata links, Ethernet, a Wide Area Network (WAN), a Local Area Network(LAN), Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMax, and other suitable communications links.

As stated earlier, image sensor data may be either two-dimensional orone-dimensional from a CIS module. Embodiments including a CISline-scanning module may be implemented as explained in U.S. PatentApplication Publication 2005/0242500 (the disclosure of which has beenincorporated by reference herein).

The display 314 may present messages as to the state of the shoe, thestate of the game, number of cards dealt, the number of deals leftbefore a cut card or virtual cut card is reached (e.g., the dealing shoeidentifies that two decks are present, makes a virtual cut at apredetermined number of cards, and based on data input of the number ofplayers at the table, identifies when the next deal will be the lastdeal with the cards in the shoe), identify any problems with the shoe(e.g., low power, the occurrence of a card jam, the location of a cardjam, misalignment of cards by rollers, and failed element such as asensor), player hands, card rank/suit dispensed, and the like. The shoeof the present invention to the knowledge of the inventors is the firstof its type to present a visual indication of a virtual cut card to thedealer. According to the embodiments of the invention, the casino mayinput a percentage completion of the shoe, or a specified card number orinitiate a random card selection to identify the virtual “cut” card. Thedisplay 314 provides a warning when the cut card is about to be dealt.In one embodiment, the display 314 issues a warning to prevent dealing around that could potentially issue the cut card.

The above structures, materials and physical arrangements are exemplaryand are not intended to be limiting. Angles and positions in thedisplayed designs and figures may be varied according to the design andskill of the artisan. The cards may be sensed and/or read within theshoe while they are moving or when they are still at a particularlocation within the shoe.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a process 500 for determining a blackjackstatus of the dealer's hand. In operation block 505, each player and thedealer are dealt two cards. The player's cards may be face-up orface-down. For the dealer's cards, the first card is dealt face-up(i.e., up card) and the second card (i.e., hole card) is dealtface-down. Decision block 510 indicates that the dealer observes the upcard to determine whether it is an Ace. If not, control passes todecision block 525. If the dealer's up card is an Ace, operation block515 indicates that the dealer offers the players an opportunity to placeinsurance bets and the players place insurance bets if they so desire.The shoe may be configured to provide a notification to the dealer tooffer insurance at decision block 515.

Operation block 520 indicates that the dealer queries the card shoeafter the insurance bets have been placed. The dealer may query thedevice by pressing one of the buttons (illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4).The result of the query may vary by embodiment. The result may simply bea sound from the speaker, indicating that the dealer has blackjack. Theresult may be illumination of the LED indicating that the dealer hasblackjack. The result may be a message on the display indicating thatthe dealer has blackjack or indicating the rank, and possibly the suit,of the dealer's hole card.

Determination of the dealer's hole card is possible by the card readerbecause it is the last card dealt from the card shoe prior to the dealerquerying the card shoe. Thus, the hole card rank and suit is known andmay be displayed. If the hole card value is to be displayed to thedealer, the embodiment of the invention should be configured such thatthe display is visible only to the dealer and unreadable by the gamingparticipants or unauthorized gaming observers. In another embodiment,the identification of the hole card is recorded when the dealer inputs acommand on the control panel. If the shoe is part of a larger system,data collecting devices, such as proximity sensors, on the table mayautomatically indicate the presence or arrival of a hole card.

In some circumstances, displaying the hole card value to the dealer maynot be advisable. Knowledge of the hole card's value may enable thedealer to signal the value to a player, either intentionally orunintentionally. Thus, rather than displaying the hole card's value, anindication that the hole card is a ten (i.e. the dealer has blackjack)may be preferable. Thus, the dealer may press a button that simplyrequests a yes or no indication of whether the hole card value is a ten.

If the dealer's up card is not an Ace, decision block 525 indicates thatthe dealer observes his up card to determine whether it is a ten. Asindicated earlier, checking for a dealer blackjack when the up card is aten may vary based on casino rules. If verification of a blackjack isnot needed when the dealer's up card is a ten, the hand is played out(not shown on FIG. 5) under normal blackjack rules. If a ten on the upcard is to be checked and the up card is not a ten, the hand is playedout under normal blackjack rules, as indicated by operation block 530.

If a ten on the up card is to be checked and the up card is a ten,operation block 535 indicates that the dealer queries the card shoe 535.The dealer may query the device by pressing one of the buttonsillustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The result of the query may vary byembodiment. The result may simply be a sound from the speaker,indicating that the dealer has blackjack. The result may be illuminationof the LED indicating that the dealer has blackjack. The result may be amessage on the display indicating that the dealer has blackjack orindicating the rank, and possibly the suit, of the dealer's hole card.As stated earlier, automatic determination of the dealer's hole card ispossible by the card reader because it is the last card dealt from thecard shoe prior to the dealer querying the card shoe. Thus, the holecard rank and/or suit are known and may be displayed. If the hole cardvalue is to be displayed to the dealer, the embodiment of the inventionshould be configured such that the display is visible only to the dealerand unreadable by the gaming participants or unauthorized gamingobservers.

Rather than displaying the hole card's value, an indication that thehole card is an Ace (i.e. the dealer has blackjack) may be preferable.Thus, the dealer may press a button that simply requests a yes or noindication of whether the hole card value is an Ace. Alternatively, thedevice may display a secret symbol indicating to the dealer only thepresence of a blackjack.

In summary, the card shoe may be queried to display the value of thedealer's hole card, to determine if the dealer's hole card is a ten, orto determine if the dealer's hole card is an Ace. Thus, embodiments ofthe card shoe may be configured such that a different button, orcombination of button presses is used for each of the three differentqueries. After the query, the dealer knows whether he has a blackjack.

Decision block 540 is the test of a dealer's blackjack. If the dealerdoes not have blackjack, the hand is played out or finished under normalblackjack rules, as indicated by operation block 545. If the dealer doeshave blackjack, the hand ends, as indicated by operation block 550. Thedealer collects all the initial bets and pays out any insurance betsthat may have been placed.

Process 500 is suitable to a stand-alone embodiment of the card shoebecause no information other than the dealer's hole card (i.e., the lastdealt card before a dealer query) is required. However, as is explainedbelow, process 500 may also be suitable for use when the card shoe ispart of a table management system.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an integrated monitoring system 400 (alsoreferred to as a table management system) used to monitor gaming at ablackjack table 405 (shown in FIG. 7). The integrated monitoring system400 includes an intelligent shoe 300 coupled to a table manager 450through a local table network 440. The intelligent shoe 300 is anembodiment of the card shoe suitable for practicing the presentinvention as described above. Some embodiments of the integratedmonitoring system 400 may also include one or more table image units 420and chip readers 430 coupled to the table manager 450 through the localtable network 440. The table manager 450 may be coupled to a server 470through a communication network 460. By way of example, and notlimitation, the communication network 460 may be configured to couplemultiple table managers 450 to a central database or server 470 bycreating a network for a specific pit area, a specific casino floorarea, or the entire casino.

FIG. 7 illustrates a layout of a blackjack table 405 and onecontemplated, suitable arrangement of elements of the integratedmonitoring system 400 illustrated in FIG. 6 and used to monitor gamingat a blackjack table 405 in accordance with an embodiment of theinvention. Integrated monitoring system 400 may include many componentsfor determining various forms of information about the game being playedat the table 405, the players playing the game, wager amounts andpayouts, and the dealer responsible for the game. As is described belowin more detail, the information may be captured, processed, and actedupon (e.g., generation of alerts) in substantially real time.

In system 400, the blackjack table 405 is equipped with the card shoe300 described earlier. The card shoe 300 is configured forcommunications via communication medium 380 and the local table network440 with the table manager 450. Also shown on the table 405 are chipreaders 430 that may be configured as Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID)antennas/transmitters for each wagering area. In an embodiment with RFIDtransmitters 430 and RD tagged chips (not shown) are used in conjunctionwith RFID transmitters 430 located within or underneath the table 310.The RFID antennas/transmitters respectively pick up the values of thegame chips and then transmit the chip information to the table manager450 via the communication medium 380 and local table network 440. U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,651,548 and 5,735,742 describe RFID chips and chip readingsystems that may be used as the game chips and RFID transmitters 430.Although not shown, the RFID transmitters 430 may be configured toextend into the insurance area 435 of the table 405 to obtain the chipvalues of insurance wagers. In another embodiment, additional individualRFID transmitters connected to the communication medium 380 may beplaced in the insurance area 435, one RFID transmitter associated witheach player wagering area.

The system 400 may also include overhead cameras 420 (also referred toas image units) connected to a ceiling of the casino, mounted on a poleto the table, or in the vicinity of the table 405. These cameras 420process the images received by the cameras 420 respectively andcommunicate with the table manager 450 over the communication media andthe local table network 440.

The table manager 450 processes, and may transmit, images of itemsviewed by the cameras 420 in substantially near real time. Dealt cardvalues, wagers, and other table activity can be imaged and determinedusing the cameras 420 in cooperation with the table manager 450. Thetable manager 450 may be implemented as a general-purpose computersystem, a server or other processor system as is generally known in theart. The table manager 450 will contain computer implemented processing(i.e., process 500, and 600 illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 8) that may bestored on a computer readable medium of the general-purpose computersystem. As such, the processing and functions of the table manager 450may be stored as a computer program on a computer readable medium, ordownloaded from the server 470 (not shown in FIG. 7) over thecommunication network 460.

As can been seen, the cameras 420 are positioned to achieve a full viewof the gaming table surface, and may be positioned to give the bestvantage point for the desired application. An optical or magneticsynchronizing sensor can be used to detect the presence of an object onthe gaming surface of the table. The sensor, if used, may activate thecameras 420 and trigger image acquisition. The images are processed andtransmitted to the table manager 450.

The integrated monitoring system 400 may be used for numerous functionsbeyond determining the status of whether the dealer has a blackjack.Embodiments of the integrated monitoring system 400 and additionalfunctions are disclosed in concurrently filed application bearing theattorney docket number PA1712.ap.US and entitled “CASINO TABLE GAMEMONITORING SYSTEM.”

Those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the process 500,illustrated in FIG. 5, may be performed by the integrated monitoringsystem. For example, determining the hole cards values may be performedin a variety of other ways. The intelligent shoe may determine thecard's value and send it to the table manager. The raw image data may besent from the intelligent shoe to the table manager and the tablemanager processes the raw image data to determine the card's value.Alternatively, determining the card's value may be performed as acombined process wherein the intelligent shoe performs some of theprocessing and the table manager performs some of the processing.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of another process 600 for determining ablackjack status of the dealer's hand, which may be used withembodiments of the integrated monitoring system of FIGS. 6 and 7, or astand-alone version of the card shoe embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4.

In process 600, operation block 605 indicates that the beginning of ahand is determined. In the stand-alone card shoe embodiments, thebeginning of a hand may be determined by the dealer pressing a button onthe card shoe or the dealer removing a first card for the round. Thefirst card for the round may be determined based on a timer, or otherelement to analyze a delay since a card has been removed from the cardshoe.

In the integrated monitoring system embodiments, the beginning of around may be determined by the same process as for the stand-aloneembodiment, or in a number of other ways. For example, the dealer couldpress a button on the card shoe, the table manager could determine thatthere are no cards on the table based on image data from the cameras, orthe table manager could determine that there are no bets on the tablebased on image data from the cameras or data from the chip readers 430.

In operation block 610, each player and the dealer are dealt two cards.The player's cards may be face-up or face-down. For the dealer's cards,one card is dealt face-up (i.e., up card) and the other card (i.e., holecard) is dealt face-down. In embodiments using process 600, which of thedealers cards is face-up and which is face-down is not important.

Operation block 615 indicates that the number of players is determined.In the stand-alone card shoe embodiments, the number of players may bedetermined based on the number of cards that have been dealt since theindication of the beginning of the hand. One-half of the number of cardsdealt minus two is the number of players other than the dealer

In the integrated monitoring system embodiments, the number of playersmay be determined in a manner similar to the stand-alone card shoeembodiments. Alternatively, the number of players may be determinedbased on image data from the cameras and the table manager evaluatingthe image data to identify the cards and the number of hands dealt. Inyet another alternative, the number of players may be determined basedon the number of wagering positions that include bets. Thus, the chipreaders can indicate to the table manager if a bet is placed. From thisindication, the table manager can determine the number of players. Inaddition, the number of wagering positions that include bets may bedetermined from image data from the cameras, table top proximity sensors(not shown), or by other known means and the table manager evaluatingthe data to identify the wagering positions with bets.

Operation block 620 indicates that the dealer's hand is determined. Inthe stand-alone card shoe embodiments, the card shoe knows all the cardsdealt for the current hand. The last card dealt is typically the holecard and the other dealer's card is the total number of cards dealt forthe current round minus two then divided by two. Thus, one can see thatit may not be necessary to determine the number of players directly(i.e., through a separate sensing system) since the dealers hand can bedetermined simply by knowing how many total cards have been dealt forthe current round. In the integrated monitoring system embodiments, thedealer's hand may be determined in a manner similar to the stand-alonecard shoe embodiments. However, in the integrated monitoring system, thecards values may be determined in a variety of other ways. Theintelligent shoe may determine the card values and send them to thetable manager. The raw image data may be sent from the intelligent shoeto the table manager and the table manager processes the raw image datato determine the card values for the current hand. Alternatively,determining the card values may be determined as a combined processwherein the intelligent shoe performs some of the processing and thetable manager performs some of the processing.

Decision block 625 indicates that the dealer observes the up card todetermine whether it is an Ace. If not, control passes to operationblock 635. If the dealer's up card is an Ace, operation block 630indicates that the dealer offers the players an opportunity to placeinsurance bets and the players place insurance bets if they so desire.

Operation block 635 indicates that the dealer is notified if he hasblackjack. This notification may take multiple forms. In the stand-aloneembodiments, the notification may simply be a sound from the speaker onthe card shoe, indicating that the dealer has blackjack. Thenotification may be illumination of the LED indicating that the dealerhas blackjack. The result may be a message on the display indicating thetotal value of the dealer's hand or the value of each card in thedealer's hand.

In the integrated monitoring system embodiments, determination of thedealer's hand is performed by the table manager. Thus, the table managermay perform the notification of a blackjack by generating a sound,displaying an indication of a blackjack, displaying the values of thedealer's cards, or displaying the total value of the dealer's hand. Inaddition, the dealer's hand, or notification of blackjack, may betransmitted from the table manager to the intelligent shoe. With thisinformation, the intelligent shoe may perform the notification withthose methods described above for the stand-alone embodiments.

Initiating notification of a dealer's blackjack may also be performed ina number of ways. The notification may occur as a result of a queryplaced at the table manager, via a keyboard or mouse, or may occur as aresult of a button being pressed on the card reader. In addition, thenotification may occur after a specific time delay from when the lastcard was dealt, from a hand gesture performed by the dealer andrecognized by the cameras in combination with the table manager, or froma time delay after insurance bets are placed.

In some circumstances, displaying information about values of thedealer's cards may not be advisable. Knowledge of the dealer's cards mayenable the dealer to signal the value to a player, either intentionallyor unintentionally. Thus, rather than displaying the values of thedealers card's, a simple indication of a dealer blackjack may beadvisable. If the values of the dealer's cards, or the value of thedealer's hand is to be displayed to the dealer, the embodiments of theinvention should be configured such that the display from the tablemanager or the display from the intelligent shoe is visible only to thedealer, and unreadable by the gaming participants or unauthorized gamingobservers.

Decision block 640 is the test of a dealer's blackjack. If the dealerdoes not have blackjack, the hand is played out under normal blackjackrules and the hand is finished, as indicated by operation block 645. Ifthe dealer does have blackjack, the hand ends, as indicated by operationblock 650. The dealer collects all the initial bets and pays out anyinsurance bets that may have been placed.

Although the embodiments of the invention have been described withreference to the game of blackjack, it should be appreciated that theymay be applicable to other casino communal or non-communal games.

While the embodiments of the invention have been described in detail inconnection with preferred embodiments known at the time, it should bereadily understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosedembodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate anynumber of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalentarrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate withthe spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is notlimited by the foregoing description or drawings, but is only limited bythe scope of the appended claims.

1. A card dispensing apparatus, comprising: a card shoe configured fordispensing cards one at a time from at least one deck of cards disposedin the card shoe; an image sensor operably associated with the card shoeand configured for recognizing a rank of each card that is dispensedfrom the card shoe; and a notification element operably associated withthe card shoe and configured for revealing to a dealer a dealer's handstatus.
 2. The card dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein thenotification element is selected from the group consisting of a display,a LED, a speaker, a signal to an external device, and combinationsthereof.
 3. The card dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein thenotification element is a display configured to be perceived by thedealer and unreadable by gaming participants or unauthorized gamingobservers.
 4. The card dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein thedealer's hand status is determinable by a requesting element beingconfigured to request at least a value of a last dispensed card and thenotification element being configured to indicate the value of the lastdispensed card.
 5. The card dispensing apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising a requesting element operably associated with the card shoeand configured for the dealer to activate, wherein the dealer's handstatus is determinable by the requesting element being configured torequest if a value of a last dispensed card is a ten and thenotification element being configured to indicate if the value of thelast dispensed card is a ten.
 6. The card dispensing apparatus of claim5, wherein the dealer's hand status is determinable by the requestingelement being configured to request if the value of the last dispensedcard is an Ace and the notification element being configured to indicateif the value of the last dispensed card is an Ace.
 7. A card dispensingsystem, comprising; a card shoe configured for dispensing cards one at atime from at least one deck of cards disposed in the card shoe, the cardshoe including; an image sensor operably associated with the card shoeand configured for recognizing a rank of each card that is dispensedfrom the card shoe; a first communication module configured fortransmitting information about the rank of each card and for receiving ahand notification; and a notification element operably associated withthe card shoe and configured for revealing an actionable event inresponse to receiving the hand notification; and a table managerconfigured for: receiving the information about the rank of each card;determining, from the information about the rank of each card, a firstdealer-card rank and a second dealer-card rank; and transmitting thehand notification to the card shoe if a combination of the firstdealer-card rank and the second dealer-card rank comprise a blackjack.8. The card dispensing system of claim 7, further comprising arequesting element configured for enabling the notification element toreveal the actionable event by an indication selected from the groupconsisting of the dealer's hand value, the dealer's hole card value, orcombinations thereof.
 9. The card dispensing system of claim 7, furthercomprising a requesting element configured for enabling the notificationelement to reveal the actionable event by indicating that a dealer'shole card is a ten.
 10. The card dispensing system of claim 7, furthercomprising a requesting element configured for enabling the notificationelement to reveal the actionable event by indicating that a dealer'shole card is an Ace.
 11. The card dispensing system of claim 7, whereinthe notification element is a display configured to be perceived by thedealer and unreadable by gaming participants or unauthorized gamingobservers.
 12. The card dispensing system of claim 7, wherein thenotification element is selected from the group consisting of a display,a LED, a speaker, a signal to an external device, and combinationsthereof.
 13. The card dispensing system of claim 7, wherein the tablemanager further comprises a second communication module configured forcommunication with a server across a communication network.
 14. A methodfor determining a dealer's hand status, comprising: analyzing an imageof at least a portion of a last dispensed card captured by an imagesensor in a card shoe; determing a value of the last dispensed card byevaluating the image; requesting a dealer's hand status by activating arequesting element associated with the card shoe; and notifying thedealer of the dealer's hand status when the requesting element isactivated by indicating a value of the last dispensed card.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, wherein indicating the value of the last dispensedcard comprises displaying the value to the dealer on a displayconfigured to be perceived by the dealer and unreadable by gamingparticipants or unauthorized gaming observers.
 16. The method of claim14, wherein notifying the dealer comprises an action selected from thegroup consisting of presenting a sound, activating an LED, displayingthe value of the last dispensed card, displaying the dealer's handstatus, and combinations thereof.
 17. The method of claim 14, whereinrequesting the dealer's hand status comprises requesting if the lastdispensed card is a ten and notifying the dealer comprises notifying thedealer that the last dispensed card is the ten.
 18. The method of claim14, wherein requesting the dealer's hand status comprises requesting ifthe last dispensed card is an Ace and notifying the dealer comprisesnotifying the dealer that the last dispensed card is the Ace.
 19. Amethod for determining a dealer's hand status, comprising: determining abeginning of a round of blackjack; determining a dealer's hand value by:determining a value of a last card dealt in the round by analyzing animage of at least a portion of the last card dealt, the image capturedby an image sensor in a card shoe; and determining a value of a firstdealer card in the round by applying an algorithm to identify the firstdealer card and by analyzing an image of at least a portion of the firstdealer card, the image captured by the image sensor in the card shoe;and indicating the dealer's hand status resulting from the dealer's handvalue.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein indicating the dealer's handstatus comprises displaying the dealer's hand value, the value of thelast card dealt, the value of the first dealer card, or combinationsthereof on a display configured to be perceived by the dealer andunreadable by gaming participants or unauthorized gaming observers. 21.The method of claim 19, wherein indicating the dealer's hand statuscomprises an action selected from the group consisting of presenting asound, activating an LED, displaying the dealer's hand value, displayingthe value of the last card dealt, displaying the value of the firstdealer card, sending a signal to an external device, and combinationsthereof.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein indicating the dealer'shand status comprises indicating that the value of the last card dealtis a ten.
 23. The method of claim 19, wherein indicating the dealer'shand status comprises indicating that the value of the last card dealtis an Ace.
 24. The method of claim 19, wherein analyzing an image of atleast a portion of the cards is performed by a device selected from thegroup consisiting of a card shoe, a table manager, and combinationsthereof.
 25. The method of claim 19, wherein determining a number ofcards dealt comprises: analyzing at least one image of a table from atleast one camera to determine a number of wagers placed or analyzing theat least one image of the table to determine a number of hands dealt inthe round; and determining that the number of cards dealt is twice thenumber of wagers placed plus two or twice the number of hands dealt,including the dealer's hand.
 26. The method of claim 19, whereindetermining the beginning of the round of blackjack comprises an actionselected from the group consisting of determining that a table does notinclude any cards dealt thereon, determining that the table does notinclude any an bets placed thereon, receiving a start of roundnotification from a table manager, and receiving a start of roundnotification from the card shoe.